One wounded in shooting in Converse Heights neighborhood

Tuesday

Dec 27, 2011 at 1:09 PM

A Chesnee woman shot a homeless man after she and her husband confronted the man inside a vacant home the couple is selling in Converse Heights, according to a Spartanburg Public Safety incident report.

By Jenny Arnoldjennifer.arnold@shj.com

A Chesnee woman shot a homeless man after she and her husband confronted the man inside a vacant home the couple is selling in Converse Heights, according to a Spartanburg Public Safety incident report.No charges have been filed in the shooting, which occurred at 12:40 p.m. Tuesday on Connecticut Avenue, just down from Happy Hollow Park.Police said Greg Wells, 31, who is homeless, was transported by ambulance from the two-story home at 183 Connecticut Ave.Capt. Art Littlejohn said Wells had been shot in the face, but was responsive to officers before being taken to the hospital, where he was listed in serious condition Tuesday night.According to the incident report, Ray Earl Thompson Jr. 54, who now lives in Chesnee with his wife, Maria J. Thompson, 40, received a call from a real estate agent who said that “a black man was in the house when they came to show it.”Littlejohn was not sure if the real estate agent actually went into the home and found Wells there, or if the agent saw Wells while he or she was outside the house.As Maria Thompson was looking for the key, Ray Thompson pulled on the home's front door, and it came open, the report states. Wells met Ray Thompson at the door, and Ray Thompson asked Wells what he was doing in the house. Ray Thompson later told police that he pulled out his .45-caliber handgun as Wells got closer, and he told Wells that he would shoot if the man didn't back up.According to the report, Wells grabbed Ray Thompson's arm, and Maria Thompson fired her gun, shooting Wells in the face.Shortly after the incident, a man was seen handing a black pistol to officers in the front yard of the home. The Thompsons were questioned by investigators, but they were not handcuffed or arrested, Littlejohn said.Investigators will consult with the 7th Circuit Solicitor's Office to decide whether to pursue charges.“Nothing has been ruled out,” Littlejohn said. “We're still gathering everyone's statements. We will talk to the solicitor.”One resident reported seeing a light on upstairs in the home recently, which she felt was suspicious. Littlejohn said another neighbor saw someone jump the back fence recently, as well. Littlejohn couldn't say how long Wells had been in the home.It's that kind of activity that residents should report to police, Littlejohn said.“We always recommend that people call the police and let us handle it,” he said.It's possible Wells could face charges.“You can't just go into someone's house and live in it,” Littlejohn said.

The sceneAbout 15 patrol cars rushed to the scene of the shooting Tuesday afternoon.Residents drove slowly by the home, which was cordoned off with police tape. Several stopped to ask officers and other neighbors what happened. Neighbors also walked to the scene, hoping for information. One woman's face registered shock when a TV news crew told her that someone had been shot at the home.Another neighbor, Meredith Vangeison, said her children told her that there were what seemed like “hundreds” of police cars and officers on Connecticut, in the block between Glendalyn Avenue and Rutledge Street.“If someone was running around the neighborhood armed and dangerous, I'd want to know about it,” Vangeison said. “There have been car break-ins, and I had heard of one home invasion, but nothing like this.”

Few crimes reportedLast month, city officers held a meeting at Pine Street Elementary School to address concerns about recent crimes in the historic neighborhood. At that meeting, Public Safety Director Tony Fisher said the majority of crimes reported in Converse Heights during this past year were thefts from vehicles. Vandalism, a few burglaries, larcenies of rocking chairs and lawn decorations, credit card fraud, driving offenses and a drug arrest also were reported in 2011.He cautioned residents about allowing fear to consume them, saying it can “cripple a neighborhood.” Fisher described Converse Heights as “an exciting, good and viable neighborhood.”The neighborhood meeting followed headline-making comments by Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright, who urged women to obtain concealed weapons permits after a woman reported being assaulted at Miliken Park in October.Connecticut Avenue resident Lisa Hollett moved into her home in November and said her husband, Stephen, was at home at the time of the incident a few doors down, but didn't hear any gunshots. Hollett said she was “a little curious” about what happened at 183 Connecticut Avenue on Tuesday but not alarmed, and she didn't feel a need to arm herself in Converse Heights. “I wouldn't want to live in fear — I don't want to live like that,” Hollett said.